Phonics is an important skill. It is the method of teaching children the sounds that each letter makes and how to blend those sounds together to form words. However, with so many sounds to choose from, it can be difficult to know which phonics sounds to teach first. In this blog post, we'll discuss which phonics sounds you should teach first to help your child get started on their reading journey.
it is important to teach the most common sounds first. These are the sounds that your child will come across most frequently when reading. The most common sounds include 's', 'a', 't', 'p', 'i', 'n', 'm', 'd', 'g', and 'o'. These sounds are relatively easy to learn, and they will form the foundation for your child's phonics knowledge.
Next, it is important to teach sounds that are easy to distinguish from each other. For example, 'b' and 'd' can be confusing for young learners, as can 'p' and 'q'. It is important to focus on these sounds and teach them in isolation to help children distinguish between them.
It is also a good idea to teach sounds that are easy to blend together to form words. For example, 's' and 'a' can be blended together to form the word 'sat', while 'p' and 'a' can be blended to form the word 'pat'. By teaching these sounds together, you can help your child to start reading simple words and build their confidence.
Once your child has a solid understanding of these sounds, you can move on to more complex sounds. These might include digraphs (two letters that make one sound) like 'sh', 'ch', and 'th', or long vowel sounds like 'ee', 'ai', and 'oa'. These sounds are a bit trickier to learn, but they are essential for helping your child to read more complex words and sentences.
Phonics can be tricky and sometimes makes my grown-up brain hurt, but with the right approach and plenty of practice, your child will be well on their way to becoming a confident and proficient reader.